The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. All too often, however, I hear virtuosi whose skill seems to create in them the illusion that the elements of the music no longer really matter.
The result is faster and faster tempos; less and less traction within the vibrations themselves.
I have walked out of performances in which that is the primary non-happening as I find it demeaning to listen to it.
But there are viruosi whose skill exists for the purpose of engaging the listener in the fullest possible range of fascination with vibrations soft as well as loud, slow as well as fast.
The model for this will always be for me Artur Rubinstein.
